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May 20th 2015COMMUNITYFREE CHURCH WEEKLY
ALL-DAY!
20% of every purchase will go to the Student Missions trip to
Birmingham Alabama!
As a church we want to support the students as they raise money
to
travel to Birmingham, Alabama to serve with World Changers, but
also we want to have some fun,
right? So how about a pizza party at
Monicals Pizza! Grab the family, some friends, and head out
anytime all-day with your flyer to dine-in at the restaurant.
Weather forecasts
say rain so its a perfect idea! (Available at the church and in
this
Sundays bulletin).
May 25th
Lane ShaferSunday, May 24th
4-7:00pm1405 Ridgefield (Thornwood)
Mahomet, IL 61853
Mallory Bauer (Christman)Sunday, May 24th
4-8:00pmKruse Center off Rt. 54
207 N. Lawrence Gibson City, IL
Justin Reed CelebrationSaturday, May 23rd
12 - 3:00pm1705 Oakwood DriveMahomet, IL 61853
Isaac Ekberg CelebrationSaturday, May 23rd
12 - 3:00pm1615 E. Lake in the Woods Ct.
Mahomet, IL 61853
Everyone is invited to come out and celebrate these great
students achievements!
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DO YOU LIKE TO READ? DO YOU ORDER BOOKS AND OTHER THINGS FROM
AMAZON.COM?DO YOU WANT THE CHURCH TO BENEFIT FROM YOUR
PURCHASES?
When you shop on Amazon.com you can select your church,
Community Free Church of Mahomet, as a beneficiary of a percentage
of what is spent on your purchase. This is a free way that your
church can be blessed to the work of the gospel.
How does AmazonSmile work?When first visiting AmazonSmile,
customers are prompted to select a charitable organization from
almost one million eligible organizations. In order to browse or
shop at AmazonSmile, customers must first select a charitable
organization. For eligible purchases at AmazonSmile, the
AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price to
the customers selected charitable organization.
An Iraqi nun who has been displaced by the Islamic State (IS)
terrorist organization told members of Congress on Wednesday that
Christians in Iraq have lost everything, including their own
dignity and history, as IS continues its quest to completely erase
evidence of Christianity's existence in the region.
Sister Diana Momeka, who was at the center of a recent State
Department visa controversy, testified before the House Foreign
Affairs Committee and said that although it has been nearly a year
since IS took over most of the Nineveh Plains in northern Iraq,
Christian Iraqi citizens are still in dire need of assistance in
liberating their lands.
Momeka, who works with the Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of
Siena, fled from Qaraqosh to the Kurdish-protected north last
summer upon IS' rapid takeover of the Mosul region. She explained
in the hearing that she is just one of over 120,000 civilians who
left their homes and property behind to flee to Kurdistan to escape
from the atrocities committed by the terrorist group.
Although Momeka explained that Christians were the first people
group to settle in the Nineveh Plains, she asserted that the only
Christians that are left there are the ones that have already been
caught by IS.
"Why should we leave our country? What have we done? The
Christians of Iraq are the first people of the land," Momeka said.
"Uprooted and forcefully
displaced, we have realized that IS' plan is to evacuate the
land of Christians and wipe the earth clean of any evidence that we
existed. This is cultural and human genocide. The only Christians
that remain in the Plain of Nineveh are those who are held
hostage."
Also speaking at the hearing was Katharyn Hanson, a fellow at
the University of Pennsylvania Museum's Cultural Heritage Center
who has expertise in IS' destruction of Iraq's cultural
heritage.
Hanson listed a number of ancient religious and cultural sites
and artifacts that have been destroyed by IS. She mentioned how
last June IS destroyed the tomb of the Prophet Jonah. She also
mentioned how IS has recently released videos showing the
destruction of seventh-century sculptures that were highly regarded
by today's Assyrian Christians.
When asked by the committee's ranking member, Rep. Eliot Engel,
D-New York, what impact IS' destruction of Christian holy sites has
had on internally displaced Assyrian Christians, Momeka asserted
that it signifies that Christians in the region have "lost
everything," even their 2,000-year history.
"We lost everything and today, every Christian that is living in
the region of Kurdistan, we don't feel that dignity anymore,"
Momeka explained. "When you lose your home, you lose everything you
have, you lose your heritage and culture, you become with no
identity. Today, that is how we see ourselves."
For the complete Christian Post story, go to
http://www.christianpost.com/news/iraqi-nun-displaced-by-isis-to-congress-christians-in-iraq-have-no-identity-in-the-midst-of-jihadis-quest-to-wipe-earth-clean-of-christian-existence-139082/
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Tuesday 5/19 Community Groups Schifo Home 6:00pm
Wednesday 5/20 Youth Ministry 6:00pm Just Do Something
7:00-8:00pm With Rob and Michelle Shafer at church Thursday 5/21
Parking Lot Prayer 7:00-7:20am
Just Do Something 5:00-6:00pm With Jacob Barrett at church
Worship Practice 7:30pm
Saturday 5/23 Act Like Men 7:00am Basketball 8:20am Graduation
Celebrations! (See page 1) Sunday 5/24 Christian Education 9:30am
Just Do Something 9:30-10:30am With Jim Sackett and Dean Ekberg at
church. Childrens Sunday School 9:30-10:30am
Childrens Church 10:45am Worship Service 10:45am
Just Do Something 6:15-7:15pm With the Eichstedts at church
Monday 5/25 Church Office closed Student Monicals Pizza Night
6-8:00pm
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Whats Happening This Week at Your Church?
Yesterday I unlocked the glass doors of the cabinet housing the
personal Bible of C&MA pioneer missionary Dr. Robert H.
Jaffray, who is widely credited with the establishment of C&MA
work in China, Vietnam and Indonesia. In the margin next to Isaiah
33:1516, Jaffray had penned the words, feet, hands, heart, ears,
eyes. I tried to imagine what was going through his mind and heart
as he scribbled these words....
1. Seek first His Kingdom: Weve all heard it before, but it
bears repeating in an age when so many things compete for our
loyalty and devotion. One day, a young Robert Jaffray went to
listen to Dr. A. B. Simpson preach. After hearing Simpsons
impassioned address, Jaffray threw himself at the feet of Christ
and surrendered his entire life to Him and His cause. Jaffrays life
and death bear witness to his devotion (see page 7 for a firsthand
account of Jaffrays final days in a Japanese internment camp).
2. Dispel earthly lies with heavenly truths: Weve all seen the
tee shirt: When Satan tries to remind you of your past, remind him
of his future. As coheirs with Christ, we have the authority to
disarm our enemy. How utterly liberating! This is a promise, not
merely a premise.
3. Realize the beauty and diversity of the Body of Christ.
Jaffrays Bible notes hint at this truth his feet, hands, heart,
ears, eyes_we all serve different roles at different times. When
you read realize I may never be a missionary, but you will always
be a vital part of the mission.
4. Recognize that God uses flawed people who exercise
extraordinary faith. Scripture gives us many glimpses into their
lives: David had Bathshebas husband killed to cover his sin; Paul
murdered early followers of Christ. Yet, because of their faith in
a limitless God, their historic impact on the Kingdom is
immeasurable.
5. Believe that faith accomplishes the impossible. But dont take
my word for it; take Hisin Luke 17:56.
Peter A. Burgo
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For the last 2 years Amir has boldly lived for Christ in Syria.
Not only is he a follower, but he is discipling believers and
teaching them how to start house churches! To hear more about how
God is working through him, check out Chapter 2 in Killing
Christians, where we call him "Farid"!
He writes, "So many brothers and sisters have been killed
already that it seems our little group has the only empty graveyard
in Syria. As of this writing, none of us have died yet. We rejoice
by greeting one another with the words, The graveyard is still
empty! We all know it will not stay empty, but meanwhile, were
grateful."
The graveyard he is speaking of is pictured below. He and a few
other believers built it by hand, as they are not allowed to be
buried with their families. The graveyard for martyrs of Jesus.
What is written in the picture is Psalm 116:15, "Precious in the
sight of the LORD is the death of his faithful servants."
Prayer Before Work?Starting this week we are going to have an
open time of prayer in the parking lot of CEFCM, Thursdays from
7:00am-7:20am. Stop by on your way to work and join in as we seek
God together. This will be an open invite to ALL who call on the
name of the Lord Joel 2:32, Romans 10:17 (ESV)
If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and
pray and seek my face and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive
their sin and heal their land. 15Now my eyes
will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in
this place. 2 Chronicles 7:14-15 (ESV)
We Must Abide in Christ for our Prayer-life.Christ teaches us to
pray not only by example, by instruction, by command, by promises,
but by showing us Himself, the ever-living Intercessor, as our
Life. It is when we believe this, and go and abide in Him for our
prayer-life too, that our fears of not being able to pray aright
will vanish, and we shall joyfully and triumphantly trust our Lord
to teach us to pray, to be Himself the life and the power of our
prayer.
May God open our eyes to see what the holy ministry of
intercession is to which, as His royal priesthood, we have been set
apart. May He give us a large and strong heart to believe what
mighty influence our prayers can exert. And may all fear as to our
being able to fulfill our vocation vanish as we see Jesus, living
ever to pray, living in us to pray, and standing surety for our
prayer-life.
Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first, and worship God
in His glory. Think of what He can do, and how He delights to hear
the prayers of His redeemed people. Think of your place and
privilege in Christ, and expect great things! ~Andrew Murray
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After much prayer, the Elders and Deacons feel that not only has
the Lord said YES to AWANA for 2015/2016, but He has provided some
pretty neat confirmations along the way.
Therefore, this year we are going to lay our hands on
thiscalling like we never have in my almost 4 years at
CEFCM.Joyfully, we will press on as a church in faith that God will
provide every volunteer, financial, and logistical need for the
coming year.
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing Gods vision for AWANA
for the coming year. We hope that you will get excited about the
big and small ways you can help in reaching kids. This may involve
getting out of our comfort zone and into the community to let
families and kids know that there is a great place to learn the
Gospel of Jesus Christ. But dont worry, we have already lined up an
official AWANA training on August 2nd, so you are equipped to
serve!
What can you do now?
Pray for the AWANA committee planning for the next years
program. Pray for how God might use you to help make AWANA amazing!
Pray that God would prepare hearts to answer the call to serve.Pray
for boldness in going out into the community to share about AWANA.
Pray that God would open doors to reach kids who have never heard
the Gospel. Pray for wisdom, clarity, and direction for the AWANA
committee.
Are you interested in helping with AWANA? Email Michelle Shafer:
[email protected]
Weekly Bible Reading May 17th 1 Corinthians 9 May 21st 1
Corinthians 13May 18th 1 Corinthians 10 May 22nd 1 Corinthians
14May 19th 1 Corinthians 11 May 23rd 1 Corinthians 15May 20th 1
Corinthians 12 May 24th 1 Corinthians 16
Each of the movements Hebrews 11 is marked by the phrase by
faith. What we learn as we read each verse weekly, is that the
people of God live by faith at every turn. What we notice is the
events dont always appear to bless them, but they, by faith, serve
as a blessing in Gods bigger plan. Likewise, you are a blessing in
His greater purposes.
Read Hebrews 11:24. In the house of the Pharaoh everything was
available. Knowledge, pleasure, foods and drinks of various kinds.
Not only that, but it was available in abundance. The only thing
Moses had to do was to choose it, but he did not. Look around
today. Like Moses, everything is available to you. There are so
many opportunities for excess, yet I would ask you do you ever
consider Christ in excess? The gospel in excess? The Bible in
excess? The Christian life isnt meant to be lived upon table
scraps, but at the table of the true King, Jesus Christ!
WHATS UP WITH
PRAY RIGHT NOW!
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As I am writing this we are finishing watching the Ridley Scott
film: Exodus: Gods and Kings. I had been putting off watching this,
not because of the reviews I read that lambasted it for its
inability to follow the Biblical narrative, but because sometimes
watching these kinds of things is like a skilled carpenter watching
a shop student build their first birdhouse. Painful.
Painful because you know how it ought to be done. Painful
because as Christians we really long to see the full weight of
great filmmaking plied to bringing the Bible to life. Sort of like
what Cecil B. DeMil did, but on a grand scale because of what we
can now do with post-production and special effects. Alas, I dont
know that we will see those days ahead since most of those making
large movies are largely are not believers in Christ.
In an interview with Collider magazine shortly after the release
of Gods and Kings Ridley Scott was asked why he took such artistic
license with the film (and the Biblical text), to which he replied:
When you dont believe the source material you have to take artistic
license in interpreting the source material. (E! Online)
While this was very frustrating to hear, after seeing the film I
feel as though there is something far worse happening. It wasnt
that just major parts and pieces of the book of Exodus were
forgotten, but that what was left to interpretation was far
greater: Jesus.
Take this scene: Moses returns to Egypt and faces the Pharaoh
Ramses. Instead of coming repeatedly before him as we see in the
Biblical account, Moses comes once in force demanding: Let the
people go. Not My people which impresses the Lordship of God and
redemption of man, but the people.
After this Moses choice of means to convey his demand to free
the people is military action. By doing this what is removed from
the movie is Moses serving as Gods dynamic intercessor between His
people and their oppressor. Why is this omission so important?
Because as intercessor Moses serves as a type of Christ in the Old
Testament.
It is at this point in the film that Moses says to God (who is
tragically portrayed as a small angry boy) who tells Moses to watch
what He will do :
Are you trying to humble me? Because you wont.
In the Bible it is not Moses who God is humbling, in fact the
Bible testifies that he is the most humble man (Numbers 12:3). The
man being humbled is instead Pharaoh. Scott intentionally chose to
paint Moses as the bad guy so that we would empathize with the
plight of the evil Pharaoh.
This runs entirely counter to the Biblical understanding of evil
which says that we ought not empathize with evil, but overcome it
by the power of God. This is the very thing that Jesus came to
do.
"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have
peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have
overcome the world. John 16:33
I believe that the battle we face is not just for the Bible, but
for the Christ it reveals. It is not just for prayer, but for the
freedom to seek our Christs Kingdom in every way and in every
place. It is not just for morality, but for the Work of Christ that
frees people from the power of sin.
The battle is about Jesus Christ.
Until we understand this, we will be sidetracked by a million
smaller battles that attempt to take our focus off the one thing
that matters the most: Jesus Christ. It is only by keeping our eyes
on Christ, through the provision of the Spirit, that we can sustain
our faith to stand even when the physical, emotional and spiritual
where with all to stand escapes us.
Just as the Apostle Paul faced trials, distractions, and
frustrations as he ministered among the nations we also face the
same things. Like Paul we ought to be driven by one unwavering
truth, the desire to know nothing amongst the nations except Christ
and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Therefore, the message of
Christ, the foundation of the gospel, must become the thing were we
stand our ground.
Jesus is Alive!
(and JESUS)
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Join Tasha Schifo this summer as she launches into an 8 week
study on Biblical Womanhood through True Woman 101: Divine Design
On Wednesdays: June 10th ,17th, 24th and July 1st, 8th, 15th, and
22nd from 8:30am-10:00am.
In this study, Mary A. Kassian and Nancy Leigh DeMoss share the
key fundamentals of biblical womanhood. Each week includes five
individual lessons leading to a group time of sharing and digging
deeper into Gods Word.
If youre tired of the worlds cheap imitations and knock-offs -
or if youre tired of clichd advice, shallow caricatures - then this
foundational teaching and insight from Gods Word is for you!
Thousands of women are tossing the worlds brand of womanhood and
joining a quiet counter-revolution... Biblical Womanhood!
Find out why...
Email Tasha at [email protected] orcall her at 309-857-2693 to
sign up for this study.
The cost will be: $15 for the book, and there will be child-care
available at a cost of $2 per week, per child.
Starting Sunday, June 7th, with Pastor Jason:We are going to be
looking at some of the toughest issues Christians are facing:
Marriage, Poverty, Racism, Sex Slavery, Persecution, Abortion,
Pornography, and Orphans.
This will be a high discussion group, as we read and wrestle
these hard issues with truth and grace together.
Cost is $20 for 10 weeks
New Sunday AM Christian Education Classes:
Starting Sunday, June 7th, with Jim Sackett:
God doesn't demand hectic church programs and frenetic
schedules; he only wants his people to know him more intimately,
says top-selling author D. A. Carson.prayer.
Cost is $12 for 10 weeks
The apostle Paul found that spiritual closeness in his own
fellowship with the Father. By following Paul's example, we can do
the same. This study calls believers to reject superficiality, and
revolutionize their lives by embracing a God-guided approach to
prayer.
Sign up for a class today by emailing:
[email protected]